Chapter 2040: Evolution Options

Elayne held her sword, Asteria, and immediately felt her Sword Obsession connect to her even more deeply than before. A deep crimson aura quickly encompassed the blade and her entire body. This had to be the boosting ability that increased her damage dealt and even added a chance to drain a portion of the damage inflicted on her enemies.

The other skill manifested exactly as the description had stated. Deep black spores emerged from the large mushroom cap above her head, spreading outward through the air before planting themselves firmly on the ground. They rapidly grew into large black mushrooms that were so completely dark they seemed to melt into the surface itself, becoming what the system called "Shadow Spots."

With just a single thought, one of the Shadow Spots detonated violently, releasing a burst of black flames before disappearing completely and leaving behind more spores. She could choose whether to make those new spores grow or remain dormant at will.

"Interesting skills!" she nodded with clear satisfaction, feeling happy to have received one last solid reward from her previous races. Without these final abilities, those races would have felt quite underwhelming in the end.

Lastly, she moved on to examine her next evolution options, now feeling confident that she was finished experimenting with the new Skills she had obtained.

"Alright, let’s see..." she nodded to herself and began carefully reading the messages that appeared next.

[Showcasing Evolution Options for the Sword Revenant Race]

[Decaying Samurai – Tier 3]

[Rotting Goliath – Tier 3]

[Nether Devourer – Tier 3]

[Showcasing Evolution Options for the Abyssal Myconid Race]

[Abyssal Myconid Queen – Tier 3]

[Withering Vampiric Treant – Tier 3]

[Ashen Desert Dryad – Tier 3]

She had glanced at these options earlier but had been distracted by the sudden appearance of the new Skills. Now she finally had the proper time to examine each path before her in detail. She had quite a few new and intriguing options this time.

Some of them clearly echoed past evolution paths she had rejected before, giving her the quiet thought that even if she refused one option now, there might always be a second chance to pursue it again later down the line.

Her Sword Revenant Evolutions were Decaying Samurai, Rotting Goliath, and Nether Devourer. All three of them sounded much stronger and far more threatening than her current Sword Revenant form.

She could reasonably guess that Decaying Samurai continued further along the path of the sword, refining it even more and leaving behind the more brutish sword-wielding techniques of the Sword Revenant in favor of true perfection.

Rotting Goliath might be similar to another race she had chosen not to take before — the Rotten Giant — which had been described as a large giant race that spewed toxic poison at victims and unleashed hell upon its foes while possessing massive defenses. This new option seemed likely to follow a similar direction.

Lastly, there was Nether Devourer... Was it somehow related to the Patchwork Zombie path? She could not tell for certain, but this one sounded the most intimidating of the three. It perhaps allowed her to return to a more primal yet significantly stronger form of Undead, one consumed by feral and animalistic desires instead of attempting to become more "civilized" like the Decaying Samurai.

After making these initial guesses, she decided to check the full Skill descriptions herself.

[Decaying Samurai – Tier 3]

A Special Evolution of the Sword Revenant. A Zombie that has further continued to master the sword and has evolved into a stronger, taller, slenderer, and more agile undead capable of more accurately unleashing sword techniques and developing new ones. The Decaying Samurai has refined his own sword-wielding abilities, developing the Talent of Cultivating the Sword Dao and actually putting it into practice through the new Art of "Bushido" inherited from ancient fallen warriors. While holding a sword, preferably a katana or a wakizashi, the Decaying Samurai gains several bonuses, but when they hold no sword, they become weaker. Their attacks are potent but take a longer time to unleash through concentration.

[Rotting Goliath – Tier 3]

A special evolution of the Rotting Giant. A Zombie who has grown massive after devouring the corpses of their brethren through many years, bloating itself into a giant that constantly pukes soul- and flesh-corroding poisonous liquid from their mouths. They have now further evolved themselves into powerful, tall, and muscular warriors. Their large, muscled bodies make them incredibly hardy with high amounts of defense and strength. They are capable of dispatching foes with their great physical strength and corroding acid, while no longer being stupid or slow like their previous form.

[Nether Devourer – Tier 3]

A Special Evolution of a Zombie who had continued to devour Death Energy and Nether itself, gorging themselves on this essence to grow animalistic, feral, but also incredibly strong as a result. Nether Devourers are incredibly agile predators that move at lightning speeds, track prey from hundreds of kilometers away, and attack in the darkest pits of the Netherworld, ambushing prey and aiming at their weak points to tear them to shreds and devour both body and soul. They are terrifying, powerful predators feared all across the Netherworld, with bonuses to all their stats and also combat skills, chasing and hunting powers, and stalking capabilities.

"Huh...!"

Elayne nodded slowly while reading the detailed descriptions, carefully thinking about what she should choose. All three options were interesting and possessed their own unique quirks and abilities that made each one rather distinct.

Decaying Samurai seemed like almost the obvious choice. The power of the Sword Dao was very tempting, even though she had felt only a faint trace of it as a Sword Revenant. It might simply be an exaggeration, but the potential still pulled at her.

Rotting Goliath promised immense strength and defenses, yet the hideous form and the acid-puking abilities still deterred her from selecting it.

Nether Devourer remained the most ambiguous of the three. The description stated it was animalistic, but Elayne truly had no clear idea what sort of physical form it would give her in the end.

"Ugh, what do I choose?!"

As someone who was mostly accustomed to evolving into various plant-based forms, choosing between these Undead options always felt complicated and uncertain...

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